NEW ORLEANS – A deaf St. Tammany Parish individual alleges a Slidell health care facility failed to provide an interpreter during her medical treatment.
Myra Gill filed a complaint on May 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District 2, doing business as Slidell Memorial Hospital, alleging that the public entity violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that as a result of the lack of a qualified sign language interpreter or use of an auxiliary aid, the plaintiff was unable to understand her medical condition or the treatment she received and her post-surgery and discharge instructions in 2016. The plaintiff holds St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District 2 responsible because the defendant allegedly discriminated against her by its failure and/or refusal to provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to ensure effective communication.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensatory damages, costs, attorneys’ fees and interest and all other relief that the court finds necessary and appropriate. She is represented by Andrew D. Bizer, Garret S. DeReus and Marc P. Florman of Bizer & DeReus in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:17-cv-05026